


Closer

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [53]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 00:41:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8182337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Prompt: "i heard "closer" by chainsmokers ft halsey on the radio & it totally reminded me of klaroline. can you please write a klaroline prompt based off this song?" Takes place after ep 511, but canon can be disregarded past that point.





	

Klaus rubbed a hand over his face, irritated that he would be stuck in Denver for another night. The witch he was meant to meet had been woefully unprepared for his request, though she hoped to have the necessary ingredients ready for him the next day. Walking into the hotel bar, he considered just killing her out of avarice.

One did not disappoint the Original Hybrid without consequences.

He raised a finger to the bartender, ordering a bourbon in an effort to calm his frayed nerves - only for them to go haywire at the sight of familiar blond curls sitting at the bar. Four years without a word, and all of Klaus's patience to fulfill his promise of "however long it takes" evaporated in a moment.

Forcing himself to walk at a human pace, he approached her with trepidation. Almost like she were a mirage, Klaus half expected her to disappear once he was close. "You're not that good at sneaky," she teased without looking his way. "I felt your presence the second you crossed the threshold."

Though he didn't like being caught at a disadvantage, Klaus enjoyed the thrill of pleasure that rushed through him at her friendly demeanor. "Hello, Caroline."

Finally, she turned to face him, a wan smile on her face. She sighed heavily. "Hi, Klaus."

Klaus greedily took the stool next to her, letting his gaze wander over her features. As a vampire, she would never grow older, but something seemed different about her. More surprising, he was utterly confused as to what she was doing away from Mystic Falls. The girl he once knew had been annoyingly attached to the small hamlet. "Last I heard, love," he said, softly running a finger down her wrist, "you had plans and a future, none of which involved me. Yet, here you are."

"What was it you told me?" she asked wistfully, dragging her hand away from his touch only to lightly trace the necklaces hanging from his neck. "Small town life, there are a thousand more birthdays to live for? I found myself wondering about that. A lot. I didn't like it."

Swallowing, Klaus was unsure how to answer. He focused instead on the fingers brushing against his chest, willing himself to remain still so as not to scare her off.

"I thought sending you away would make me happy," she admitted, "that I could be content living my life exactly as I had planned before you blew into town and ruined everything. Even with all the supernatural crap that seemed to follow Elena and Stefan and Damon… Four years, and all I've accomplished is a degree I don't want to use."

Klaus frowned at that. "If I ever see any of your friends again, it would be too soon. You can do anything you want," he implored.

Smirking, Caroline's hand floated to his neck with her thumb stroking the sensitive area beneath his ear. "Even you?"

He opened his mouth to answer, hesitating at the blatant proposition. A thousand years had taught him to remain ever vigilant, and a pleasantly accommodating Caroline often meant a dastardly plot happening elsewhere. Even if she truly meant the offer, Klaus wasn't sure he could handle just another moment of weakness from her. Letting her go was hard enough, the night of her graduation bittersweet at taking the high road for once in his life; leaving her after their afternoon in the woods burned into his memory as the stupidest, noblest thing he was capable of - determined to never repeat it.

As this argument pounded in his head like a relentless beat, Caroline shrank away from him to move off her stool. Klaus reached for her helplessly, only for his phone to buzz in his pocket. Fully prepared to ignore it, Caroline's stern glare stopped him from chasing her.

"Answer it," she ordered, jerking her chin to the source of the noise.

Klaus didn't particularly care for the bossy tone, but somehow Caroline was always the exception for him. At least she had paused in her attempt to escape. Checking his phone, Klaus huffed in irritation as he accepted the witch's call. "What?"

"I have it, we can do the spell tonight," she answered in a rush.

Caroline turned on her heel, striding out of the bar.

"Be prepared whenever I might visit," Klaus snapped, ending the call to follow the blonde vampire out of the hotel. She was getting into a Range Rover he didn't recognize, until Klaus flashed to pull her away and braced his arms around her against the car. "I don't believe we finished, sweetheart."

Arching a suggestive eyebrow, Caroline appeared to fight down a smile. "That's one way to put it," she answered. "Go back to your dastardly deeds, Klaus. This was clearly a bad idea."

"I think it was a great idea," he countered, crowding her space. Nuzzling her ear with his nose, Klaus whispered, "What do you want, love?"

She bit her lip, mere inches from his own that were begging to lean in. "I can't stop," she sighed in dejection.

That wouldn't do for Klaus. He laid light kisses along her cheekbone, bare whispers against her skin. "What can't you stop?"

"Wanting you."

The answer was soft, so soft that Klaus had to lean back for a better look at Caroline's worried expression. Baffled, a warmth shot through his veins as he processed what that meant. "We have eternity," he reminded her, though the hand he rested on her hip gripped slightly tighter in case she tried to leave. "I can wait as long as you need."

"We're not getting any older," she shrugged, a new determination threading through her body language. "It seems arbitrary to hold out when all I want is to-"

Without bother to finish her thought, Caroline leaned in to kiss him properly. Her fingers dug into his hair, her other hand suddenly walking the line between his belt and the hem of his jeans, the thumb lightly grazing his lower back.

Spurred by her enthusiasm, Klaus took control of the kiss, using one hand to tilt her chin up as he pressed her into the side of the car. He kept it slow and languid, despite the growing impatience of her hand crawling up his back. His lips dragged away from hers, nibbling down her neck.

"Klaus," she whined, bucking her hips in reaction when he latched onto her collarbone. Blindly, she reached behind her to open the door to the Rover's backseat. Pulling him by his shirt, Caroline yanked him closer until he sat comfortably inside the car. She closed the door before straddling his lap, grinding their hips at the tortuously slow pace he had initiated. "That's better," she murmured into his ear, her tongue tracing the edge of it.

Groaning, Klaus twisted his hand into the mass of curls, tugging her head back. "Are you sure, love?"

Caroline giggled at his tentative tone, until she realized how earnest he was. He was really asking her, because this was it for him. She was the happily ever after he had been waiting for. Sobering, she nodded slowly. "Pull me closer," she whispered, smiling at the immediate grip of his arms around her back. She ran her hands down his chest until she could toy with the hem of his Henley. "Okay," she joked. "Maybe not that close, I really need to get this off of you."

Laughing together, they got lost in kisses while trying to wrestle each other free of their clothes.

* * *

The windows fogged up during their interlude, making it a little easier to forget the outside world when they were together. Cuddled against his chest, Caroline stared at her fingers tracing the birds of his tattoo. His skin was already healing from the bite she had placed over the ink, but she felt an indescribable contentment at the primal claim of marking him.

As the sexual heat drained from them both, however, a chill set into her bones. She might have grown tired of finding her own place in the world knowing it was next to the infuriating man panting beside her, but she wasn't sure he could follow through on promises of eternity. Hell, she couldn't even picture eternity. Four years as a vampire was nothing on his millennium, and she burrowed deeper into his shoulder at the thought.

Klaus's hand never stopped stroking her hair, and she tried not to accept the comfort in the gesture. Coughing lightly, she affected nonchalance. "Don't you have a witch to see?"

She felt his smirk without bothering to look. "I have more important things to do, sweetheart," he answered easily.

"Oh, like what?"

His lips pressed against her temple, poorly concealing a laugh. "I want to take you up to my hotel room, finally have you in a proper bed," he said into her hair. "I'll have you again and again, until you've pulled the sheets clear off the mattress in ecstasy."

Caroline's heart pounded in her chest, but it wasn't out of fear like such a declaration might have done years earlier.

It was a rush of pure excitement, and she pulled him closer into a tight hug in the darkness of her car.


End file.
